You come home after petting a friend’s dog, and your own dog immediately knows something’s different. She sniffs your jeans, checks your sleeves, then returns to your knees for a second inspection.…
Dogs have a wonderfully strange idea of a proper introduction. Two dogs meet at the park, exchange a quick glance, and suddenly one is standing nose-deep in the other’s backside.…
When your dog stops to sniff another dog’s pee, he’s doing more than checking out a bathroom spot. Urine carries chemical signals that can tell dogs something about the animal that left it, making an ordinary patch of grass surprisingly interesting.…
You’ve probably heard someone say that dogs can smell fear. Maybe you’ve wondered about it yourself when your dog seems unusually attentive during a difficult moment. The idea sounds almost supernatural, as though dogs can detect emotions we’re trying to hide.…
Your dog comes back inside after enjoying a chew in the yard. Before he’s even reached his bed, your other dog walks over, lifts her nose toward his muzzle, and gives his mouth a careful sniff.…
Two dogs meet in the yard after spending the day apart. They know each other well, and the greeting is relaxed. One dog sniffs the other’s shoulder, moves toward his head, and spends a few seconds investigating the area around his ear.…
Imagine your friend has spent the afternoon with her own dog. She steps through your doorway, says hello, and your dog comes over for a closer look. He sniffs her shoes, moves toward her trouser leg, and pauses at her hand.…
Your dog is asleep beside your desk. Properly asleep, by the look of it. Head down. Breathing slow. Legs loose. You finish what you’re doing, push your chair back as quietly as possible, and stand.…
Two dogs are wrestling across the living-room rug, all loose legs and open mouths. They tumble apart, bounce back together, and then pause. One steps close and drapes his chin across the other’s shoulders.…
A crouching dog can be surprisingly hard to read. Low posture can show up when a dog is worried about another dog and when he’s seconds away from bursting into play.…